Cucumber

An annual herbaceous spreading vine with an angular, stiffly hairy stem 1–3 m long, climbing supports with simple tendrils. The leaves are alternate on long stalks, heart-shaped with three to five shallow lobes and stiff hairs. Flowers are unisexual (male and female on the same plant), yellow; the female flower has a small fruit-like ovary below the calyx. The fruit is a pepo: cylindrical, 5–30 cm long depending on the cultivar, green-skinned (white or yellow types are rarer), smooth or with soft spines and warts; the flesh is pale green, crisp and very juicy (~95% water); the core holds many small flat seeds. Cultivar groups include slicing, pickling and seedless (greenhouse) types.

The cucumber originates in South Asia and southern China (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and northern Thailand) and has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years; the Roman emperor Tiberius had it grown year-round, Charlemagne cultivated it, and the Spanish took it to the Americas in 1494 (Columbian exchange). China now accounts for over three quarters of world production. In Vietnam, cucumbers are grown year-round in the Red River Delta, southeastern provinces, the Mekong Delta and Lâm Đồng (field and greenhouse); the fruit is eaten fresh with fish sauce, in salads, quick-pickled (dua gop, sweet-sour pickle), juiced for refreshment, and used as a facial mask.